Month: February 2018

Rapture: A Closer Look

Published by mhelbert on February 25, 2018

So, let’s move along to the text from Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica that folks of the dispensationalist disposition use to “prove” that at some point in time Jesus is going to show up, someone’s going to blow a horn, and all of the good christian folks are going to be taken up into heaven. They will all sit around in joyful bliss while the world they left behind, all of the people, family; friends; and loved ones, are being tormented by plagues and death. I wonder, will those joyous few be munching on chips watching death unfold as if they were watching the Super Bowl? “Hey, pass the nachos!”

Here is that text,

13) But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17) Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (New American Standard Bible, 1995 update, LaHabra, CA, The Lockman Foundation.)

Like I wrote earlier, the fact that some of the people in this particular community of Christ followers had died was the concern here. So, Paul shares a bit about that. (The term “asleep”, or “fallen asleep” here refers to death.)

However, the verse I want to focus on now is the last one, v. 17.

From a first glance, it appears that maybe Darby got it right. On what the late Billy Graham would call a ‘simple reading’ of the text, it does seem to say that those who believe like Paul did will, in fact, be ‘caught up’ to be with Jesus forever and ever, Hallelujah, ain’t it grand!

But, if we take a closer look, things may not be like they seem.
(Insert diabolical laugh here.)

The actual word ‘rapture’ does not appear at all in this text. Many scholars think that the term is an English take on the Latin version of this verse. In that version, the word translated ‘caught up’ is rapiemur. That literally means “we shall be carried away.” The English word also carries a meaning of some “lofty emotion” or “feeling of ecstasy” which could have influenced its use here. In any case, this is the term assigned to an event that Paul wrote about.

The question, though, is this the point that Paul was explaining to his young sisters and brothers? Was he trying to give them the actual blow-by-blow sequence of events that would occur at Jesus’ return? And, did he intend that they should understand it as being whisked away to the great by-and-by where they would be eternally separated from the world that they were born into?

Here’s where it’s important to know a bit about the social and cultural context of the writer and the readers. This period of time in the world controlled by Rome was vastly different than the time in which we live. They had different beliefs, different goals and ways to achieve them, they were, in a word or two, “Not Us.” Yet, so many people who interpret these ancient documents read them as if they were written yesterday. Simply put, we cannot sit down and read the Bible like we would the latest Stephen King novel. Anyone who says different is either playing you or just plain ignorant.

I wrote earlier that Paul was addressing a question that the young community at Thessalonica had. “When Jesus returns, what’s going to happen to our friends and family who are already dead?” Paul had apparently told them that Jesus was going to return to institute God’s righteous kingdom. And they, the Thessalonians, would be members of that kingdom.

These people were primarily from a pagan background. They worshiped the gods of the Greek and Roman pantheon as well as Caesar and Roma. They had no concept of resurrection from the dead like Paul did. Paul might as well have been talking gibberish to them. But, they accepted his words and believed that somehow this Jewish prophet from Palestine had, indeed, risen from the dead and was taken up into the heavens. But, they didn’t seem to be able to apply that to anyone other than Jesus. “Yeah, sure, Jesus was special and all. But, what about my husband? My business partner? They all believed in Jesus. Are they going to miss out on Jesus’ coming?”

This was the question Paul was attempting to answer. Not, “Hey Paul! What’s gonna happen to us when Jesus comes back?” This is the question that moderns ask. It’s an entirely different issue. And, if we start from there, we will miss Paul’s point completely.

So, knowing the question, what was Paul’s response? This is where the literal, simple readers of the text get completely turned around. They generally say something along the line of what Darby & Pals did.

And, they would be mistaken.

The language that Paul used was something that everyone to whom he wrote would understand. It was, after all, part of their culture. Paul responded that when Jesus returned all who had died would be raised from the dead. Resurrected just like Jesus. (I can hear the collective “Whew!” from everyone hearing this.) After that, all who were alive would be snatched up to meet Jesus somewhere in the clouds.

That’s it. Nothing more. There is nothing in this text that indicates where they would go from there. Yes, they were promised that they would be with Jesus always. But, the location is nowhere to be found in this letter.

This truly begs the question, WHY NOT?

The short answer to that is that they already knew!

“Whoa! What! Hold on, Mike! How could they know if Paul didn’t tell them?”

Context, context, context my friends. It’s all about the context.

And, in the next post we’ll see what this means.

Please use the comments to share your thoughts and questions.

And, Please share with one and all! Your friends, neighbors, the mailman!

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Context, Context, Context!

Published by mhelbert on February 22, 2018

We now have an idea about where the idea of dividing history into Ages or Dispensations came from.

Theologians, trying to make sense of how God seems to change the way that God relates to humans, came up with a structure that allowed the ‘unchanging’ God to actually ‘change.’

This idea grew and morphed until Darby and Friends created the Dispensationalism that we have all grown to know and love. They devised a mechanism that allows God to judge the World with wrath and fire. At the same time they added an escape hatch for “true believers.” (And, we all know that “true believers” were ONLY those who believed exactly as they did.)

So, let’s begin to take a closer look at the so-called Biblical basis for this.

DISCLAIMER:
I realize that some of you who read this blog have not spent a lot of time studying the Bible. You may not have opened one since you were a teenager. Some of what I write here may seem strange. That’s because, well, it is. At least for those of us living in the 21st century. I will attempt to keep my assumptions and language accessible to everyone. PLEASE, if I am not clear about something, let me know in the comments and I’ll try to explain things better.
Thanks!

Context! Context! Context!
Anyone who has seriously studied ancient texts knows that context is everything. Not just literary context, how one part of the text is related to others around it. But, the social and cultural contexts of the writer and original reader of the text is also necessary. Missing this piece may cause folks to read an ancient text and assume that their own contemporary context is what’s important in any interpretation. It is Not! That’s where folks like Darby get things seriously wrong.

There are a few primary Biblical texts that dispensationalists use to build their fantasy. The first one that I want to deal with is in St. Paul’s first letter to the Church at Thessalonica. These people lived in an area of Macedonia, (modern day Greece), on the northern tip of the Aegean Sea. It’s location as a port city meant that the population was pretty diverse. It also meant that the population was decidedly pagan. Yes, there was a small community of Jewish folks. We know that because the story of Paul’s arrival recorded in Acts 17 states that there was a “synagogue of the Jews.” It was Paul’s custom to go to the synagogue of each city he came to. In the synagogue he would attempt to reason with the Jews in order to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, their long-awaited Messiah. However, like in most Greek cities Paul & Co. visited, there were a number of non-Jewish people who also attended the synagogue. These folks were referred to as “God fearing Greeks.” As Paul spoke he convinced some of his Jewish sisters and brothers about Jesus. It was also recorded that a “large number” of the Greeks were convinced as well. This ultimately lead some of the Jews to stir up opposition to Paul and his team. So much so, that they had to hurriedly leave Thessalonica to save their skin.

That leads us to Paul’s letter.

Most scholars believe that after Paul got kicked out of Thessalonica he worried so much about the people that he’d left that he sent an envoy back to check on them and to encourage them. Paul was that kind of guy. He didn’t simply blow into town, sell some snake oil, and skate out of town. He was truly a pastor who cared about people.

When his partner, probably a guy named Timothy, returned he gave a report that both encouraged and concerned Paul. The small community that he had established was doing well in some areas. They understood what it meant to love one another and that it was necessary to stick together in the face of mounting opposition from others in the city. You see, it was very difficult for people to try to follow a God who was not Caesar. But, they seemed to be doing ok.

There were, however, a couple areas of concern for Paul. Because he had to leave in a hurry, he did not have the time to teach them fully. There were things that were lacking in the Thessalonians’ knowledge base that Paul needed to address. One of those things had to do with what would happen when Jesus returned to Earth. “Returned to Earth!” you say. Yes, you read that right. One of the foundational beliefs of the Christian Church is that one day Jesus will return to Earth as King and Judge. Paul had apparently begun to talk about this to the Thessalonian believers. However, it seems as though he didn’t really get to elaborate much about the details. We don’t have any letters or other documentation to show exactly what the Thessalonians were wondering about. But, from Paul’s responses we can get an idea.

Apparently, the Thessalonians were under the impression that when Jesus returned the people who were alive would see that and receive whatever blessing and advantage that Jesus brought. But, since Paul had left, some members of the community had died. What was going to happen to them? Would they be totally left out?

Hence, Paul’s letter of explanation.

Well, this post is getting pretty long. So, Paul’s explanation and what I, and many others, believe about this rapture thing will need to wait til the next post.

Again, if you have questions or other ideas, let me know in the comments.

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Dispensationalism: The Short Version

Published by mhelbert on February 16, 2018

Ok, class. It’s time for a vocabulary quiz.

What was that word I used in the last post?

“Dispossessed?”

“Antidisestablishmentarianism?”

“Dipsy-doodle?”

Nope, none of the above.

It was “dispensationalism.”

Yeah, I know, it’s a mouthful.

But, what exactly is it? And, what does it have to do with that thing called the Rapture?

Besides being a thing that fundamentalists like to say in order to sound intelligent, it’s an idea that has it’s roots in the earliest writings of the Church.

In his seminal work, City of God, Augustine of Hippo viewed history as divided into various stages. In books 15 – 17 Augustine divides the history of the world by Biblical events. The time of Adam’s sons, Cain and Abel until Noah’s flood. From the flood up to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. He then follows Abraham until the time of Israel’s kings; the kings through until the time of Christ. For him these were distinct eras that revealed how God related to humanity.

Darby, too, viewed history through the lens of the Christian scriptures. His view, as reconstructed by C.I. Scofield after him, was a bit more detailed and religious sounding. His view looked a bit like this:

Innocence, between creation and the Fall.
Conscience, between the Fall and Noah’s flood.
Human government, from the flood to the call of Abraham.
Promise, from Abraham to Moses.
Law, from Moses to the death of Christ.
The Church, from the resurrection to the present.
The Millennium.¹

Such divisions are tools that some theologians use to describe how God relates to God’s universe so we may perhaps understand how God works. People like patterns. We see them in the wood grain of doors and in the clouds. Theologians see patterns in Holy Writ and try to describe them so that we might better understand God.

The problem with Darby and Scofield’s view is that in order for it to work the Bible must be taken literally. Every historic event must have happened just as it was written. God must have created the earth ex nihilo, out of nothing. There must have been only two humans created by God, Adam and Eve. From them all the humans who have ever lived must have been descended. An actual Earth ending flood must have occurred in which only a handful of people survived aboard a big boat. And, that boat contained representatives of every species of animals from the whole earth!

The parts of the Bible that are considered ‘prophetic’ are also read literally. And, this misunderstanding is the foundation of dispensationalism. One writer noted, “The hermeneutic [interpretation] of ethnic and geographic literalism in prophecy is base on the assumption that prophecy is nothing but history ahead of time. Consequently, it ascribes to the prophetic portrayals the exactness of a photographic picture in advance.²”

Ok, ok…I get it. This theological mumbo-jumbo is all well and good. But, what does it have to do with the so-called ‘rapture’?

It all ties in with Darby’s view of history. Another writer stated,

What separated Darby’s dispensationalism was his novel method of biblical interpretation, which consisted of a strict literalism…and the separation of the rapture (the “catching away” of the church) from Christ’s Second Coming. At the rapture, he said, Christ will come for his saints; and at the Second Coming, he will come with his saints.³

Ah, there it is! The Rapture! What Darby was saying was that at the end of the sixth dispensation, “The Church,” Jesus was going to return to Earth and ‘snatch’ all of the Christians who had ever lived up into the clouds to join Him. He then would take them to heaven. This would happen just before the Great Tribulation and the 1,000 year reign of Christ. (All of this was mentioned in my previous post.)

Darby added a couple of things. Instead of the dispensation of the Church leading right into the 1,000 year reign of Christ, (the Millennium), he added the rapture and the tribulation.

But, why did he do that?

It goes back to his literal reading of the Bible. There are several passages that he used to develop this idea. And, in the next post we’ll begin to dig into those passages to see what the writers were actually trying to say.

¹ McGrath, Alister E., Christian Theology:An Introduction, 4th ed., Blackwell, Oxford, 2007, p. 476.
² LaRondelle, Hans K., The Israel of God in Prophecy, Berrien Springs, Mich., Andrews University Press, 1983, p. 141. Qtd. In Bloesch, Donald G., The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory, IVP Academic, 2004, p. 97-98.
³ http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/john-nelson-darby.html. Accessed 01/27/2018.

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The Rapture Invented

Published by mhelbert on February 9, 2018

John Nelson Darby – The Father of Modern Dispensationalism

When I was a member of the Evangelical church I was taught that we, and we alone, were a direct descendants of the original 1st century church. You see, the other churches had in some way compromised the original teachings and doctrines through traditions and other accouterments to make people feel better and more comfortable. The original church was militant and counter-cultural. Not like those Romans, Lutherans, and Presbyterians. So, we needed to recapture that original zeal and press forward. You know, Onward Christian Soldiers and all of that.

Part of our position was that we were learning the true, original doctrines that built that first Church. While the Roman Church had their ‘direct link’ through the papacy, we had ours through the Word of God! Ha! Our Word trumps your weird hat!

This belief included the so-called truth about what the writers of the Bible called the ‘end of days.’ And, of course we had the true understanding of what Paul and Jesus and Peter and the writer(s) of Daniel meant when they wrote about such things. Oh, and it goes without saying we completely understood what John the Seer meant when he penned his magnum opus, The Revelation.

We knew that they all wrote about events that were absolutely going to happen. There would be a period of time when people would fall away from the true faith. Check. That happened a long time ago. And, things were only getting worse.

Jesus was going to return to judge the world. This was clear from the Scripture. But, before that judgment, Jesus himself was going to gather all of the ‘true believers,’ (re. Everyone who believed just like we did). He was going to “snatch” us up into the clouds and take us to live with him forever in heaven. Wow! How exciting was that!

After the snatch and grab, there would be a 7 year period when a guy called the “anti-Christ” was going to set up shop. Lots of plagues and really bad stuff was going to happen to all of those poor folks who were left behind. At the end of the 7 years there was going to be a big war called Armageddon and Jesus would come back and destroy all of his enemies and establish a 1,000 year reign. During that time there would be blissful peace and a whole lot of Kumbaya.

Hey! Don’t be like that! It’s in the Book. Anyone with any sense can see it. As Larry Norman sang, “How could you have been so blind?”

In the Book?

Exactly what the original Church believed?

Really?

It’s time for a brief history lesson.

One source stated “Prior to 1830, no church taught it [the rapture] in their creed, catechism or statement of faith.”

Prior to 1830? What happened to all that stuff about the Original Church believing this? Didn’t they preach about the ‘snatching up’ of the faithful? Hmmm…

More importantly, what happened in 1830?

What changed then to inaugurate this whole rapture thing?

First, I think that it’s important to understand that this particular period of history was one in which there was rapid change in society. These changes were reflected in philosophy, theology, and pretty much every other area of life and culture. This was precipitated by the period known as the Enlightenment. While the actual period of the Enlightenment was in the late 17th through the 18th century, it’s effects were felt well into the 19th. The idea that humanity was on an upward trajectory toward some elusive perfection was one hallmark of this movement. The industrial revolution was in full swing during this period. Darwin published “On the Origin of the Species.” The idea that human reason was the most important resource in the universe was coming to fruition.

The old way of thinking about God and Providence was questioned. And, in many cases, found wanting.

Foundations were shaken. The entire Western worldview was being recast in the image of Humankind.

So, it’s not unreasonable that there were various reactions against this move against the divine. Nor is it surprising that during this time other neo-Christian organizations were born. Joseph Smith and the Mormons: 1830; Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science: 1879; Charles Taze Russel and the Watchtower: 1881.

There was also a less famous movement that began during this period. (At least less famous because it did not result in an entire new belief system.) A man named John Nelson Darby, 1800-1882, formed a group that became known as the Plymouth Brethren. Through this group Darby developed a theological model that he called “dispensationalism.” This idea gave birth to what we now call the “rapture.”

But, how this worked in Darby’s mind is the topic of my next post.

Stay tuned!!!

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I Wish We’d All Been Ready

Published by mhelbert on February 6, 2018

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine on Facebook mentioned that she had talked with someone about Jesus. During the conversation an old song was brought up. The song was “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” by Larry Norman. The song was released in 1969. It became a hit among Christian evangelicals who were becoming caught up in what might be called “rapturemania.” Films like “A Thief in the Night” produced by Donald W. Thompson and a book by Hal Lindsey entitled “The Late Great Planet Earth” became popular during this time.

I was a freshman in High School when I read Lindsey’s book. At that time, I was what later became known as a ‘seeker.’ I was searching for my identity and finding the idea of Jesus and the Christian faith a viable option. Lindsey seemed to be able to unlock secrets in the Bible and link them to the condition of the world at that time. This “revelation” made the Bible something other than an ancient document written by a bunch of dead people. It made it alive and relevant. To a 15 year old kid Lindsey’s book was transforming.

The reason I mention this is because the imagery of Biblical language, like that found in the books of Daniel and Revelation touches people at a deep, emotional level. It’s not like the legal and history-like language that makes up much of the Scripture. This type of literature, called apocalyptic, is full of exciting images of beasts and fire. There is cosmic warfare and people who loom larger than life. All of this can touch people at a visceral level like no other genre of literature can. When someone like Lindsey comes along and links these images to current reality, people sit up and listen. We ask, “Can this really be true?” We then may answer ‘Yes.’ At that point we are drawn into something that is larger than we are. Something with Earth changing potential. And, it’s still a secret to everyone else. It’s a secret that we’re privy to. And, that adds to the allure of these things.

So, what exactly am I talking about?

I’m talking about how the concept of the ‘end times’ as explained by Norman, Lindsey, and others like Tim LaHaye and John Hagee have turned people’s hearts and minds to something that at best is an errant theology. And, at worst a heresy that has the potential of destroying people’s lives.

I hope to explain some of this in this post and subsequent ones by showing where these ideas came from, why it is misleading, and why it is so very toxic to people and to the Church.

First, let me share the lyrics to Norman’s song. This song is a snippet of what many in the Evangelical church believe as ‘rapture theology.’

“I Wish We’d All Been Ready” by Larry Norman
Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.

A man and wife asleep in bed,
She hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone,
I wish we’d all be ready,
Two men walking up a hill,
One disappears and one’s left standing still,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.

Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we’d all been ready,
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we’d all been ready,

There’s no time to change your mind,
How could you have been so blind,
The Father spoke, the demons dined,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.
Larry Norman, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready”, 1969, Capitol Records, Prod. Hal Yoergler

The words are a poetic take on a portion of the Bible found in the Gospel According to St. Matthew. These images are part of Jesus’ discourse with his disciples about something Jesus had just said to them. They were leaving the Temple in Jerusalem after Jesus had pretty much dismissed the religious leaders as a bunch of self-seeking men who took advantage of people in order to look good themselves, (and improve their own image).

Jesus began by stating that the Temple was going to be completely destroyed. He said, “There will most certainly not be one stone upon another left here that will not be torn down.” Then the writer recorded a long litany of things and events that would happen before the Temple’s ultimate destruction.

These things and others will be the topic of future posts.

So, stay tuned!

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